The electric vehicle (EV) traces its origins to the 1830s when Scottish inventor Robert Anderson created the first electric carriage. Only in the late-nineteenth century did electric cars become widely popular, particularly in bustling urban centres where their near-silent operation and lack of exhaust fumes provided clear advantages. This early electric car success was eventually eclipsed by the rise of gasoline-powered vehicles. The core of an electric car is its battery pack, which powers the induction motor by converting the battery’s DC to AC through power electronic components (Lee et al. in Electronics 10:1859, 2021; Gabbar et al. in Technologies 9:28, 2021). This battery pack is an advanced assembly of linked batteries engineered to fulfil the energy needs of electric vehicles (Wang et al. in Chin J Mech Eng 34:57, 2021; Tian et al. in Energy Stor Mater 37:283, 2021). Battery packs must be maintained, ensuring efficient but safe operation through implementing a Battery Management System (BMS), enabling effective battery pack management (Liu et al. in Energy Rep 8:4058–4084, 2022). As mentioned earlier, the BMS is responsible for monitoring and regulating important parameters like battery potential, the flow of electric charge in the battery, the thermal condition of the battery, the proportion of energy retained within the battery and all other faults that need to be addressed to avoid any damage and safety hazards (Tian et al. in Energy Stor Mater 37:283, 2021). The battery’s performance and efficiency depend heavily on operating conditions, so the placement and utilisation of the BMS are crucial for the pack’s optimal and safe performance. Thermal management systems further enhance battery safety by monitoring temperature and activating cooling when needed, preventing component failure from excessive heat (Carroll et al. in SAETechnical papers, 2016; Chan et al. in Sustainability 15:822, 2023; Dan et al. in Energies 16:693, 2023; Hwang et al. in Renewable and sustainable energy reviews, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2024; Liu et al. in Energy Rep 8:4058–4084, 2022). Newer developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) are also getting integrated into these thermal management systems, which would help in achieving extended battery life, greater safety, and efficiency. This AI-driven thermal management approach is being developed and tested using MATLAB modelling.